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The Norwegian government is working on legislation that would allow the general public to test self-driving vehicles on the nation's roads.

Norway's minister of transport, Ketil Solvik-Olsen, said that the government “wants to make it easier for Norwegians to put innovative technologies to use in their daily lives.”

“The development and implementation of assisted driving is already making our roads safer. Further development and real-world use of such systems will probably prevent accidents and make our roads even safer,” Solvik-Olsen said in a statement.

The government said it hopes to present a bill to parliament by the spring that would allow the public to test self-driving vehicles “within the framework of traffic safety while protecting the integrity of personal information”.

Solvik-Olsen said that the legislation would allow for the gradual introduction of self-driving vehicles, specifying that “only technologically mature systems” would be allowed on the roads.

The government statement said that the introduction of legislation on self-driving vehicles would further improve road safety, which is already at record levels, and would allow Norwegian technology companies to make inroads in the self-driving car market, which is expected to grow significantly in the coming years.

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